SAN DIEGO, Oct. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Retrophin, Inc. (Nasdaq:RTRX) today announced Alvin Shih, M.D., will be stepping down from his position as executive vice president and head of research and development to become chief executive officer of a start-up biotechnology company. Dr. Shih will remain in his current role until October 31, 2016 and has agreed to serve as a consultant to Retrophin thereafter. The Company has initiated a search for a permanent successor. In the interim, chief executive officer Stephen Aselage will assume responsibility of the research and development organization.

"On behalf of the board and all our employees, I want to thank Alvin for his tremendous contributions to the rapid progression of our pipeline," said Mr. Aselage. "Alvin is leaving us in a strong position to continue the advancement of sparsentan and RE-024; we wish him success in his new role."

"While I am sad to leave Retrophin, I'm incredibly proud of the progress we have made towards delivering new therapies for rare disease patients," said Dr. Shih. "I look forward to contributing to Retrophin's future success as an external advisor."

About Retrophin

Retrophin is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company dedicated to delivering life-changing therapies to people living with rare diseases who have few, if any, treatment options. The
Company's approach centers on its pipeline featuring clinical-stage assets targeting rare diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including sparsentan for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disorder characterized by progressive scarring of the kidney often leading to end-stage renal disease, and RE-024 for pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), a life-threatening neurological disorder that typically begins in early childhood. Research exploring the potential of early-stage assets in several rare diseases is also underway. Retrophin's R&D efforts are supported by revenues from the Company's commercial products Thiola®, Cholbam® and Chenodal®.